Tonya Fennell I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday filled with family and good food. I know my family certainly did. We actually had two Thanksgiving meals this year. The first meal was with our new “military family” here at Cannon — the 73rd Special Operations AMXS. We ate fried turkey and watched as […]

By Jennifer Laurent: Freedom New Mexico My husband and I are lucky. We are among a handful of local military couples based within driving distance of our families. For now we can get in a car and, within 11 hours, be home. So it came as no surprise when last November his family accepted an […]

By Sharna Johnson: Cannon Connections An explosion in Vietnam robbed a young Marine of his legs, but not his faith and perseverance. Gene Roberts is on a mission to show how God helps people overcome challenges. The Maryland native is running across the United States on prosthetic limbs designed for athletics. “It is challenging, but […]

Jennifer Laurent I am going on an adventure. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that my husband is PCSing and I, along with our two cats and five house plants, will be making the 1,400-mile journey to Beale Air Force Base with him. Recently he came home from work and told me that […]

City offices to close All city of Portales offices will be closed from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. The closure is to allow employees to attend the funeral of Ray Terry, the husband of City Clerk Joan Martinez-Terry.

By Byron Cross: Fire Chief, Cannon Air Force Base CANNON AIR FORCE BASE — The Cannon fire department is joining forces with the National Fire Protection Association and thousands of fire departments across North America to commemorate Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15. This year’s theme is “Practice Your Escape Plan.” What would you do if […]

Tonya Fennell Last Saturday hundreds of friends and family members gathered at Cannon Air Force Base to welcome home their loved ones from a four-month deployment. Flags waved, signs reading “Welcome Home Daddy” were displayed and the tears flowed as the men and women of the 522nd Fighter Squadron reunited with their families. I only […]

By Sharna Johnson: CNJ staff writer The defense began its case Tuesday in the first-degree murder trial of two Clovis men by calling the mother of one of the defendants. Lisa Salas testified she saw her sons, Demetrio and Orlando Salas, in bed the night Carlos Perez was killed while he slept. Demetrio Salas, 21, […]

I treated myself to a trip to Lubbock this weekend. I consider it a treat only because it’s something I rarely attempt when my husband is deployed. Packing up a 20-month-old and all her “stuff” and driving for an hour and a half is much easier when my husband is along on the trip. Actually, […]

Anita Doberman Whenever people find out that my husband is a vegetarian they are surprised, and often ask me how it’s possible that he is both in the military and a vegetarian. These two notions, in apparent contradiction, baffle many of our friends and acquaintances. Friends and even family members wonder if my husband is […]

By Sharna Johnson: Cannon Connections An endorsement from a Senate panel Tuesday could mean a 3.5 percent pay raise for military members and civilian Department of Defense employees. The pay raise exceeds the 3 percent recommended by President Bush. “It’s a very good pay raise considering the circumstances and what’s happening right now,” military spouse […]

Tonya Fennell I’ve been having a recurring dream lately. In the dream, I am walking around Cannon Air Force Base surrounded by women crying tears of happiness, children jumping with joy and airmen giving sharp salutes. Everywhere I look, Air Force wives are hugging and kissing their husbands. But, I just stand there searching the […]

By Sharna Johnson: Freedom Newspapers An endorsement from a Senate panel Tuesday could mean a 3.5 percent pay raise for military members and civilian Department of Defense employees. The pay raise exceeds the 3 percent recommended by President Bush. “It’s a very good pay raise considering the circumstances and what’s happening right now,” military spouse […]

By Anita Doberman: Columnist Whenever people find out that my husband is a vegetarian they are surprised, and often ask me how it’s possible that he is both in the military and a vegetarian. These two notions, in apparent contradiction, baffle many of our friends and acquaintances. Friends and even family members wonder if my […]

By Tonya Fennell: Cannon Connections Michael Wassil played piano, sang and flew airplanes. Wassil spent 25 years in the Air Force before retiring as a Major. Although Wassil was never stationed at Cannon Air Force Base, his wife Barbara, said the New Mexico base was “close to her husband’s heart.” According to Wassil’s family, he […]

By Jennifer Laurent: Freedom Newspapers I have learned I am terrible in an emergency. Well, at least one that involves me. Recently I realized we were more than halfway through my husband’s deployment and nothing all that terrible had happened. The lawnmower hadn’t broken, the sewer had not backed up and neither of our cats […]

Anita Doberman This week my sister and my cousins came to visit me while my husband is deployed. We spoke Italian at home and during our outings, and many people asked where we came from. Sometimes they were surprised when I answered in fluent English, but we usually moved on to talk about how long […]

By Anita Doberman: Freedom Newspapers Columnist This week my sister and my cousins came to visit me while my husband is deployed. We spoke Italian at home and during our outings, and many people asked where we came from. Sometimes they were surprised when I answered in fluent English, but we usually moved on to […]

Anita Doberman I recently went to a dinner party organized by a military spouses club. The food was very good and the evening was pleasant, until someone sitting at my table started talking about how we should separate enlisted wives and officers’ wives into two distinct clubs. “Why?” I asked, and the friendly yet misinformed […]

By Anita Doberman: Columnist I recently went to a dinner party organized by a military spouses club. The food was very good and the evening was pleasant, until someone sitting at my table started talking about how we should separate enlisted wives and officers’ wives into two distinct clubs. “Why?” I asked, and the friendly […]